The University of Illinois has just announced receipt of a $12 million endowment gift from the estate of 1944 alumnae Arlys Streitmatter Conrad. The gift will be shared equally by the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS). Mrs. Conrad had worked at S&C Electric Company in Chicago for 38 years in a number of corporate positions, including 23 years as corporate secretary, as well as managed her family’s centennial farm in Speer, Illinois, prior to her death in the fall of 2007. According to the university, “Mrs. Conrad’s $12 million estate gift, which will be included in the University’s $2.25 billion Brilliant Futures fund-raising campaign, brought her total giving to the University of Illinois to more than $13.1 million and fits her lifelong commitment to the study and teaching of English as well as agriculture.”

Over 100 public schools in northeastern Oklahoma will receive more than $3 million from The Cherokee Nation in 2009. The donation will come from revenue generated by tribal car tag sales. As principal Chief Chad Smith said at a news conference announcing the gift, “Innovative educational programs continue to be a priority as we plan for our future. This $3 million will help not only the 21,000 Cherokee students in these schools but all the other students and staff, as well.” According to coverage in Tulsa World, The Cherokee Nation has donated more than $16 million to schools in northeastern Oklahoma since 2002. Notably, the donation is unrestricted and may be spent by the schools on areas where they see a need.http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleid=20090323_298_0_TheChe749590

In February, John M. Shapiro and Shonni J. Silverberg made a gift of $3.5 million to “transform the teaching of writing” at Wesleyan University and endow institution’s Creative Writing Center. The donors asked that $2.5 million of the gift be used to endow a faculty position in writing and that the remaining $1 million support renovation of the Creative Writing Center. Mr. Shapiro is co-founder and managing director of Chieftain Capital Management, an investment advisory firm based in New York City. He graduated with Honors from Wesleyan in 1974, then earned an MBA from Columbia University in 1978. Dr. Shonni J. Silverberg received her BA cum laude at Wesleyan in 1976 with a major in Biology, and earned her MD from Cornell University in 1980. She is Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and currently serves as a member of the Wesleyan University Board of Trustees. According to the university’s website, the couple had previously provided an endowment for Wesleyan’s Jewish Studies program, underwritten scholarships and contributed to the Wesleyan Fund.

The UCLA Library has received $5 million from the Arcadia Fund to “further develop, preserve and make accessible its collections,” according to the UCLA Newsroom. This is the largest single gift for collections in the history of the library. The Arcadia Fund, a British grantmaking fund administered by Charities Aid Foundation which has made several major donations to the UCLA Library in the past, was originally established as the Lisbet Rausing Charitable Fund in 2001. Its donor board consists of Lisbet Rausing, an historian and research associate of Imperial College in the UK, and Peter Baldwin, Professor of History at UCLA.

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation has pledged $1 million to The UCLA Foundation to fund an endowed chair in clinical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The focus of the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Endowed Chair in Interdepartmental Clinical Pharmacology will be to catalyze the UCLA’s current program by augmenting research in the discipline while reinforcing the importance of clinical pharmacology education at the Geffen School of Medicine. The foundation, created to promote education, tolerance, social services and the arts by the Gilberts, is now directed by Richard Ziman and Martin H. Blank Jr., both longtime UCLA supporters. More information on the gift is available on the university’s web site.

The UCLA Anderson School of Management has announced a $1 million gift from Board of Visitors member Richard S. Ziman, chairman of American Value Partners and co-chair of the school’s $100 million fundraising campaign. One half of the contribution will fund the new Richard S. Ziman Fellowship, which will support graduate students studying real estate, and the other half will be invested in a named fund providing support for critical needs at the Richard S. Ziman Center Real Estate, an institute named for the donor in appreciation of his $5 million gift to the center in 2001. Mr. Ziman, a long-time benefactor to and volunteer for both UCLA Anderson and the entire university, was recognized by the school with its highest honor, the UCLA Medal, in 2008. More information on the gift is available through the university’s website.

Montclair State University has received an anonymous donation of $5 million, the largest such gift in the institution’s history. According to announcement by the University News division, the funds will be used principally to fund scholarships to women and minorities.

The University of Illinois has just announced receipt of a $12 million endowment gift from the estate of 1944 alumnae Arlys Streitmatter Conrad. The gift will be shared equally by the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS). Mrs. Conrad had worked at S&C Electric […]

Over 100 public schools in northeastern Oklahoma will receive more than $3 million from The Cherokee Nation in 2009. The donation will come from revenue generated by tribal car tag sales. As principal Chief Chad Smith said at a news conference announcing the gift, “Innovative educational programs continue to be a priority as we plan […]

In February, John M. Shapiro and Shonni J. Silverberg made a gift of $3.5 million to “transform the teaching of writing” at Wesleyan University and endow institution’s Creative Writing Center. The donors asked that $2.5 million of the gift be used to endow a faculty position in writing and that the remaining $1 million support […]

Jarvis Christian College has received $250,000 from an anonymous member of the Northway Christian Church. The contribution, announced by Jarvis in January, will be used to endow a scholarship for a Northway student to attend the school. Jarvis and Northway have a strong relationship, according to the Longview News-Journal, with the church supporting the co […]

The UCLA Library has received $5 million from the Arcadia Fund to “further develop, preserve and make accessible its collections,” according to the UCLA Newsroom. This is the largest single gift for collections in the history of the library. The Arcadia Fund, a British grantmaking fund administered by Charities Aid Foundation which has made several […] […]

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation has pledged $1 million to The UCLA Foundation to fund an endowed chair in clinical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The focus of the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Endowed Chair in Interdepartmental Clinical Pharmacology will be to catalyze the UCLA’s current program by […] […]

The UCLA Anderson School of Management has announced a $1 million gift from Board of Visitors member Richard S. Ziman, chairman of American Value Partners and co-chair of the school’s $100 million fundraising campaign. One half of the contribution will fund the new Richard S. Ziman Fellowship, which will support graduate students studying real estate, […] […]

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has announced receipt of a $2 million gift from Renee Haugerud and John H. Murphy. According to the Times Free Press, the contribution will be split with $1.5 million to establish the Renee Haugerud and John H. Murphy Global Finance Center at the business school and the remaining $500,000 […]

Hong Kong martial arts action star Jackie Chan is donating historical Chinese houses valued at over US$67 million (S$101 million) to a new Singaporean university slated to open in 2011. According to reports in AFP, Chan will give the campus seven wooden houses and a performing stage from his private collection which date to the […]